Fountain and Flower
by Clarenova
Summary: Glorfindel is made to tell a bedtime story... Ecthelion and Glorfindel star alongside Earendil, Egalmoth, Elemmakil and Turgon make guest appearence in this ficlet of Gondolin. Lucky little Arwen, to have such as storyteller.
1. Coming To Stay

::Fountain and Flower:: 

Disclaimer: I bow to Tolkien's greatness, nothing more. 

A/N: A short ficlet about two elf lords, a fountain and one half-elven child. 

* 

A high pitched shriek of an amused child sounded off to his right, and one golden haired elf lord swerved down yet another corridor in his search for the little bundle of... _joy_ that now terrorized Imladris in the early hours of the evening. Smoothly dodging past one other harassed elf, Glorfindel pressed his lips together in tolerant annoyance. Arwen was trying his nerves that night. Another ear piercing giggle led Glorfindel down the stairs to the gardens, his feet making no noise as he hurried to catch up with the elfing that refused to be put to bed. 

'I have you now, _tithen hiril_.' Glorfindel smiled smugly he lifted Arwen out from underneath the small bench that she was trying to hide under. A small pout appeared on her delicate features. 

'You are no fun, Glorfi. Ada can never find me.' Glorfindel smirked again. 

'That is because your ada does not know where to look.' The elf lord carried her back to her rooms, where two other frustrated elves were waiting. Elladan heaved a sigh of relief as he saw his tutor walk calmly through the door, his baby sister sitting comfortably in Glorfindel's arms. Elrohir just slumped into a chair and closed his eyes, grateful that the search for the ever elusive Arwen was over. Glorfindel placed her gently in the middle of the bed, patting her head. Arwen snuggled down, then insistently tugged on Glorfindel's silver sleeve. 

'I want a story, Glorfi!' Elladan sniggered at the use of Glorfindel's pet name. 

'Yes, Glorfi, tell our sister a tale.' Glorfindel sent Elrohir a death glare, but bit his tongue in the presence of little Arwen. His eyes glinting with amusement, Glorfindel pulled Elrohir out of the chair and settled himself down. 

'Very well. What do you wish to hear about, Arwen?' 

The child sat on the bedcovers for a moment, unsure of what to choose from the many, many tempting choices. 

'Tell me,' Arwen said, sticking the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she screwed her eyes shut in thought, 'Tell me about my _daerada_. Ada's ada.' 

Glorfindel's mouth twisted into a bittersweet smile, remembering his time in Gondolin. 

'As you wish.' 

The elf lord inhaled deeply as he recalled some of his past memories. 

* 

Ecthelion, chief of the House of the Fountains, stamped in feet in impatience. Glorfindel stood slightly off the side, grinning at his flustered friend. 

'Why so jittery, Ecthelion?' Ecthelion only glared at the lord of the Golden Flower, muttering something unsavoury under his breath about Turgon condemning the two of them to such a horrible fate. Glorfindel's grin only grew wider as he monitored his usually calm companion. 

'Surely babysitting Earendil for a few hours cannot be _that_ horrible that you become so... jumpy during your watch.' Ecthelion shot Glorfindel another dark look, pawing his blade unconsciously even though he and Glorfindel had been set on patrol for the inner part of the Hidden Rock. 

'That child is a horror, _mellon nin_. He will have you ripping your hair out by the end of the day.' Glorfindel looked doubtfully at Ecthelion as he absently played with a number of flaxen coloured strands. A moment later, the two could see Idril, accompanied as always by her husband Tuor, carrying Earendil and coming towards them. Tuor was set to go on duty the next day, and Celebrindal had wanted to accompany her husband for some quiet time alone away from the noisy blabbering of her child, as Ecthelion knew all too well. The obvious choice was to place young Earendil in the company of Glorfindel and Ecthelion, seeing as they would come off watch in a number of hours and that the half-elven was already used to their company. Ecthelion had suffered many a night watching Earendil when Tuor and Idril were called for by Turgon, his house being situated closest to the couple's. Glorfindel, being one of his best friends, occasionally tagged along, but always left before the monster started mauling his prized possessions and nerves. 

Tuor waved to the two, and Glorfindel raised a hand in a gesture of return greeting. Ecthelion just glowered on. Idril finally worked her way over to them. 

'Mae govannen, Ecthelion, Glorfindel.' Ecthelion forced a smile for Earendil, who tugged at his mother's hand. Tuor ruffled his son's hair and set a hand on his shoulder. Idril flashed a overly bright smile as she ushered her child over to the two elves. 

'Now behave, Earendil, and amila and ada will come back to fetch you tomorrow.' Earendil nodded, the picture of innocence in the face of his parents. Ecthelion smiled again, though it came out more of a grimace. With a nod of thanks, Idril linked hands with Tuor and the two disappeared before Glorfindel could say aught in return. Ecthelion looked ready to cry in despair, muttering some prayer to Elbereth for strength to withstand the day in front of him. Earendil, on the other hand, looked overjoyed. 

'Uncle 'Thelion!' Earendil screeched and threw himself at the Lord of the Fountains. Grudgingly, Ecthelion had no choice but to catch him. Glorfindel's grin grew impossibly wide as Earendil started tugging on the silver locks of Ecthelion's hair. Suddenly, the boy's attention shifted, and his eyes grew wide as he spotted the lurking Glorfindel. Glorfindel began to slowly back away, abruptly thinking that perhaps Ecthelion was right about the boy. Something glowed in those eyes that made him look, quite frankly, dangerous. 

It was far too late, though, and within seconds, Earendil had magically appeared next to Glorfindel and had begun to try and braid his hair. _Try_ to braid. 

* 

Quite Some Time Later... 

* 

Glorfindel wanted to cry with relief when the horn sounded for the changing of the guard. His once straight and flowing hair had become, essentially, a disfigured birds nest. Ecthelion was smirking in delight and he pulled Earendil away from Glorfindel. The golden haired elf's mind raced as he searched for an excuse, _any_ excuse, to get him away from the monster for a number of hours. 

'Ecthelion, I have to go to my House to change. I shall meet you at yours.' Ecthelion did not have a chance to argue, for Glorfindel had fled. Ecthelion suddenly realized he was alone, with Earendil pulling him joyfully forward. The two moved through the streets, bathed in the warm rays of the dying light of Anar as Arien rode, one tall elf lord being steered to and fro by an over-eager child. 

'What's that, uncle 'Thelion?' 

'It's a fountain, Earendil.' 

'What's that, uncle 'Thelion?' 

'It's another fountain, Earendil.' 

'What's that, uncle 'Thelion?' 

'It's... a... _fountain..._ Earendil.' 

'What's that, uncle 'Thelion?' 

'Oh for Eru's sake, that's... Oh. _Oh._ That's Glorfindel, Earendil. Go greet him.' Earendil happily bounced off towards the approaching figure that was trying to hid behind Egalmoth's form. Minutes later, Glorfindel was pulled grudgingly through the gates into the House of the Fountains. 

* 

Elemmakil of the Fountain was having a good day. He had finished his duties, snitched some victuals off Legolas and was now proceeding back to the House to have a bath and settle down for a good night of reading. Yes, Elemmakil was having a good day. 

* 

Glorfindel had thought that bringing the toy ship from his house to present to Earendil was a good idea. Glorfindel decided that, in reality, Earendil should not be given any toy in any context to play with for the next few thousand years or so. The half-elf had managed to create more havoc with one ship figurine than Morgoth could ever hope to amass with ten thousand orcs clashing cymbals and beating drums. One of Ecthelion's vases now lay broken in a corner, cushions, some with seams broken and stuffing missing, were strewn everywhere throughout the once neat room and the ship was now on its way to conquer Ecthelion's liquor cabinet. 

Thankfully, the silver haired elda intercepted the young boy, suggesting he play elsewhere. Not so thankfully, Earendil had taken that suggestion to heart and had proceeded to run out of the corridor and down to one of the large fountains outside. Ecthelion had sprinted out after him to prevent the boy from drowning in one of the deep fountains, as the day was no longer young and the light was bad, while Glorfindel had trailed behind, commenting that Ecthelion should not have _built_ such deep fountains while picking feathers out of his hair. 

* 

Elemmakil whistled to himself as he strolled leisurely through the gates of his house, before stopping short in shock as he watched Earendil fling himself into one of the deepest fountains in the area, with a angered Ecthelion yelling at him and Glorfindel sprinting over to see the matter. Elemmakil decided Turgon had better know what was happening to his grandson, and hurried over to the King's square. 

* 

Earendil accidentally tripped on a stone, and though he managed to hold on to balance and steady his footing, the ship, which had been held in his hand, flew out of his grasp as he failed around, and landed in a fountain. The water sloshed over the miniature deck, swamping the ship and it sank. Earendil howled with rage, kicking himself up, his foot flying to contact with Ecthelion's groin, causing him to hear a curse that was most inappropriate for his young ears, before throwing himself into the fountain after his ship. 

* 

Ecthelion cursed all things under the sun as he limped as quickly as he could towards the fountain ahead of him, were Earendil had already partially disappeared into the depths, which were dark due to the sun dipping at last beyond the horizon. Cursing savagely, he turned his head around and yelled, 

'Oh Eru, Glorfindel! Earendil is trying to commit suicide!' 

* 

Egalmoth was walking back to his house when he heard the worst mouthful of words his ears had ever had the pleasure of listening to and the sounds of Ecthelion yelling about Earendil trying to commit suicide. Not waiting to find out what had happened, Egalmoth dropped everything and ran towards the King's square. 

* 

Glorfindel sprinted over to the fountain, and found Earendil's hand thrashing desperately at the surface for a moment before disappearing into the depths. The lord of the Golden Flower did not waste a second for thought and threw himself into the water. He did not catch Ecthelion screaming behind him. 

'Glorfindel, don't!' 

* 

Turgon rubbed his temples as he walked back to the King's square. Today's court had been especially trying, and all he wished for was the strongest stuff from Beleriand and a warm bed. Before he managed to get far, though, Egalmoth and Elemmakil came crashing into him. The King of Gondolin looked worriedly at the expressions on their faces. Before he could ask what was the matter, the two started blabbering at the same time. 

'My Lord, your grandson is trying to-' 

'My Lord, Ecthelion is trying to-' 

'Commit suicide!' 

'Murder your grandson!' 

'Earendil has thrown-' 

'Earendil has been thrown' 

'Himself into one of Ecthelion's fountains!' 

'into one of Ecthelion's fountains by the lord of the Fountains!' 

'Glorfindel is trying to help-' 

'Glorfindel is consorting with-' 

'Ecthelion!' 

Turgon's eyes widened, and all three ran towards Ecthelion's House. 

* 

Glorfindel struggled to grab and steady the thrashing body in front of him. Earendil was panicking, and bubbles of air were all around him. The elf kicked his legs and hit something hard, causing him to groan and swallow water, but his arms instinctively thrust forward, taking Earendil with them. 

* 

Ecthelion lay, groaning on the floor, paralysed and in pain. 

'Glorfindel!', he hoarsely screamed, 'don't!' 

Oh Elbereth, it _hurt_! 

* 

Turgon ran and ran, he ran so fast the trees were a blur and Elemmakil was a dot and Egalmoth was an insignificant figure behind him. _My grandson,_ he thought desperately,_ I am going to kill Ecthelion and Glorfindel!___

Turgon crashed through the gates and saw Earendil lying on the ground next to a fountain, dripping wet and wailing, while the fountain behind him bubbled and sloshed as if Ulmo had possessed it, while Ecthelion lay prone on the ground. In true grand-parental concern, Turgon took in Earendil's figure, then determining he was all right, dragged Ecthelion up by his collar as the elf lord groaned in pain. 

'What did you do to my grandson?!' 

'Don't do it, sire! Don't jump into the fountain!' 

Dropping Ecthelion, who crumpled back to his original position, Turgon returned his gaze to the still bubbling fountain. Egalmoth, who skidded up, panting, looked at it too. Turgon pushed him forward. Swallowing nervously, Egalmoth took up a large stick lying on the ground, then bashed the waters furiously. A minute later, he felt the stick being pulled, and before he could react, he was yanked into the swirling waters. 

* 

Glorfindel writhed at the pain in his foot, but it was the least of his worries as something or someone had started to bash him on the head. Wincing in pain, vision impaired and with no way of defending himself, Glorfindel tugged at whatever was being used to assault him as hard as he could, and felt a weight falling forward onto him. A flash of hair and skin made him realize that it was a fellow elf, but in his fury and rage, Glorfindel pummelled the elf with all his might, using him to push himself up and taking a revitalizing gasp of air before diving back in and hammering. 

* 

Elemmakil watched in horror as his lord lay on the ground groaning, Earendil being comforted by Turgon and the fountain alternating between sloshing water and showing flashes of elf. 

'My lord!', he cried as Turgon hurried over to the waters, having satisfied his grandson, 'where is Glorfindel?' 

* 

Turgon looked at the water after hearing Elemmakil, noticing the golden tinge every few seconds. When Egalmoth's head next appeared, he pulled the elf up with all his might, but the creature with the Golden Tinge was too powerful and strong, and the Lord of Gondolin was dragged into the fray. 

* 

Egalmoth panicked as something viciously tried to decapitate him, and after taking a breath of air, plunged back in. The being fell on top of him. 

* 

Glorfindel felt the weight of his attacker double, and decided it was time for retreat. He pushed himself away, and was surprised to find a foothold. Glorfindel stood up in the water. 

* 

Egalmoth felt the size of his attack double and back off, and found a convenient foothold. Egalmoth rose up from the water. 

* 

Turgon felt the creature retreating and found he foot on the bottom of the fountain. Turgon pushed himself up from the water. 

* 

Ecthelion had by then managed to get up, and pulled Earendil away from the fountain, motioning for Elemmakil to lead the boy into the House. He gazed at the three soaked elf lords before him. The water level came up to Glorfindel's, Turgon's and Egalmoth's shoulders. Ecthelion fell down laughing, crying in his mirth. Glorfindel glared at his friend, his hair plastered all over his face, and hoisted himself out of the fountain, pulling Turgon and Egalmoth up after him. 

'It was you, my lord?' Turgon was not listening, and instead threw himself at Glorfindel. Glorfindel fell, Turgon on top of him as his King roared, 

'What were you doing to my son?' Glorfindel tried to breathe. He gasped out an explanation. 

'My lord! He threw his ship into the fountain by accident, then he kicked Ecthelion in order to throw himself into it to retrieve the toy! I was trying to get him out!' Turgon faltered. A look of enlightenment dawn over him. The king removed his hands from Glorfindel's neck. 

'Oh.' 

Egalmoth broke down in laughter next to Ecthelion. Eventually, the four elf lords managed to stand up. Turgon was laughing nervously, patting both Ecthelion and Glorfindel on the back, while Egalmoth tried to wring his hair dry. Ecthelion smiled understandingly as Turgon apologized for what had happened. 

'No need, my lord, but I believe that Glorfindel and I have a request to make of you.' Turgon, wanting to make up for what had happened, nodded. The two lords spoke at the same time. 

'Do not make us baby-sit Earendil again. Ever.' 

And floating innocently on the water's surface was one small toy ship.   
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Going To Leave

::Bedtime Blues:: 

Disclaimer: Tolkien's, all Tolkien's. *mumbles something about wanting to own Glorfindel* 

A/N: Follow up to Fountain and Flower... This is becoming a rather long bedtime story here.... I know the twins are 111 years older than Arwen, and since I don't want to shift through my HoMEs to find out whether that is a lengthy age gap or not, I am assuming that they are grown elves. Ah, the joys of artistic liberty... This is, after all, a semi-AU-ish fic. 

* 

Arwen sighed sleepily once Glorfindel finished, her hand still on Glorfindel's sleeve, though now the grip was much laxed. The hour was not too late as yet, but for the little Undomiel, there had been more than a fair share of adventure and excitement, and the warm covers were temptingly soft. The story, which had kept her interest throughout, had ended, and now all the elfling could think of was sleep. Glorfindel, noticing that Arwen was slipping into reverie, gently removed her hand from his sleeve, placed it by her side and drew the blankets up to her chin, softly bidding her goodnight. Rising up properly and straightening his back, Glorfindel stretched, slightly stiff from sitting for so long, before motioning to the twins and bidding them to follow him out from their sister's room. 

Elladan nudged Elrohir, shooting his brother a meaningful glance which did not pass unnoticed by the elda striding next to them. 

'What do you want? Or rather, what are you two planning to do?' Elladan just nudged Elrohir again. 

'You ask him, _gwanur_, if you so wish to know.' Abruptly, Elrond and Celebrian smoothly walked down from the adjoining corridor, Elrond placing a hand on Elladan's shoulder while Celebrian hugged Elrohir. 

'What does Elrohir so wish to know?' Elladan jumped slightly at the silent approach from his father, but quickly recovered and embraced Elrond properly while his twin mirrored his actions on his mother. 

'We wanted to know what happened to Earendil after wrecking havoc in Ecthelion's house in the story Glorfindel told Arwen.' Elrond shot Glorfindel a questioning look, one eyebrow raised alarmingly high. Glorfindel shrugged. 

'Earendil was a handful, I will not deny that.' Elrohir laughed softly, as all five took a detour to the kitchen to grab a drink. Once the wine had been poured and the glassed handed out, Elrond settled down in one of the chairs the kitchen staff usually used, sipping from his glass while staring at Glorfindel over the rim. 

'What about my father?' Glorfindel sniffed appreciatively at the vintage, before leaning against the counter used for rolling dough, ignoring the flour that got on his tunic. Elladan and Elrohir positioned themselves next to their father, while Celebrian sought to perching delicately on the counter, seeing as there were not enough chairs to go around. Glorfindel mock sighed, drumming his fingers on the table, sending up a few puffs of flour. 

'Well, after Earendil was led into the house by Elemmakil...' 

* 

Glorfindel sat contentedly by the fire, taking advantage of the fact that Earendil dared not misbehave in the presence of his grandfather and letting the warmth dry his hair. The wild child was happily playing, without the usual shrieks and crashes, with Turgon and Elemmakil. The two elves were making full use of a set of soldiers that Ecthelion had dug up from somewhere to amuse the half-elven child, who had happily fallen in love with the battle strategy of bash and run away. 

Ecthelion was sitting next to Glorfindel, Egalmoth next to him, as they slowly dried off. The Lord of the Fountains was sipping on a glass of the strongest liquor his possessed, rubbing his temples wearily, thankful that the day was at last drawing to a close. The moon was coming to be quite high in the sky, and Turgon finally yawned as he patted Earendil on the head. 

'Time for you to sleep, child, and me to return home.' 

Earendil smiled sweetly up to his grandfather, who was standing up to take his leave. Ecthelion swore that he could hears the cogs working rapidly in the mind of the devious child. Egalmoth too stood to leave. Turgon raised his hand in thanks and farewell to Ecthelion, and together with Egalmoth, he departed from the House. Elemmakil softly bade his lord goodnight, and the younger elf faded into the background, leaving Ecthelion and Glorfindel alone with Earendil. 

Well, at least where Earendil had been. The boy had disappeared. Ecthelion gulped down the remaining liquor in his glass and pounded the sides of his chair. Glorfindel looked empathetically at him, and the two progressed to try and dig out the child from the recesses of Ecthelion's house. 

* 

They had looked everywhere for the child, in the cellars, in his bedroom, near the fountains, even the kitchen. Earendil was simply nowhere to be found, and that peeved Ecthelion to the extreme. Grumbling, he tried to think of a likely place he would have hidden when he heard a shout near a storeroom. 

'Earendil? Earendil, is that you?' Ecthelion poked his head into the said storeroom, where he had heard the frightened sounds. Glorfindel followed suit, and the two wandered in, looking high and low for the elusive boy. Behind a dusty shelf filled with scrolls was Earendil, whimpering in trepidation. Earendil looked fearfully up at the two elf lords. 

'I heard something, Uncle 'Thelion! Something's out there!' The child whimpered as he looked anxiously past Glorfindel as if expecting an orc to jump up from the darkness and attack him. Ecthelion rolled his eyes expressively and walked over to the boy. 

'Calm down, Earendil, there's nothing in the dark.' Earendil howled as Ecthelion tried to pick him up, his hands pounding the elf's shoulders painfully. Glorfindel winced. It looked dreadfully painful. 

'There's something out there! I know it!' Ecthelion had no choice but to put the child down in fear of dropping the struggling boy. Earendil crept back into the hole that was formed between the shelf and the wall. Ecthelion looked at the boy through a gap between a history of the Ainur and a scroll depicting the foundations of Elvendom on Middle Earth. The boy stared back. Ecthelion sighed. Of all things, Earendil was afraid of the dark. 

'Fine, Earendil. Glorfindel and myself will go and slay whatever demon that is roaming these halls, and we'll come back and get you, all right?' 

'No! Don't leave me, Uncle 'Thelion!' 

'Then come along.' 

'No! Don't make me leave, Uncle 'Thelion!' Earendil did not realize how oxymoronic he was being, much to Glorfindel's amusement. Ecthelion pulled the golden haired elf down next to him and dumped a chess set into Glorfindel's hands. 

'You stay here, and I'll go find a way to get Earendil out of there.' Before Glorfindel could protest, Ecthelion had stood and swept out of the storeroom, and thus the Siege was laid. Glorfindel sighed, pulling books off the shelf to make space to place the chess set. Earendil had been taught by Tuor to play chess since he was much younger, owing to the fact that Tuor was an almost rabid chess fan. The human child snatched the white pieces immediately, leaving Glorfindel to arrange the black pieces on his own. It was going to be a long night. 

* 

'Come now, Earendil. Are you sure you don't want to play with this nice toy?' 

* 

'What about this cake?' 

* 

Glorfindel was on game twenty two, and Ecthelion had come and gone, each time bringing a form of bribery to try and entice Earendil away. It had ranged from toys to sweets to jewellery, but the half-elf had adamantly refused the temptation of the offerings and had not budged more than a centimetre. Glorfindel was tiring of the Siege. Finally, the golden haired lord snapped, and he pulled Ecthelion down when the elf next came into the room. 

'You play. It is my turn to try and find a solution.' Glorfindel decided that if Earendil wanted to play it dirty, he too would have to resort to desperate measures. Five minutes later, he re-entered the room with a bag of sugar cubes. Earendil looked greedily at them while he massacred Ecthelion's bishop. Glorfindel wordlessly offered him one. Then two. Then three. Within minutes, the child was on a hopelessly inane sugar high. Ecthelion sighed in relief as Earendil collapsed down in exhaustion, overcome by sleepiness and sugar, his will finally slipping. Discreetly, the Lord of the Fountains scattered the chess pieces. Glorfindel did not need to know that Earendil had had him in a checkmate. 

* 

Ecthelion heaved a sigh of elation as he sunk down into bed. Earendil had been put to sleep, Glorfindel was in a guest room, and he had what was left of the night to rest in blissful quiet and peace. Now all he had to do was return the monster to his parents the next day. That, he realized dreamily, was going to be an occasion to celebrate. Soon, the warm embrace of the blankets and sheets lured him to the paths of dreams, and Ecthelion dropped asleep. 

* 

The next dawn dawned bright and cheerily, and Ecthelion was practically hopping up and down in anticipation. Today was the day he would get rid of the cumbersome bohemian monster that was Earendil. Donning a grey tunic and dark blue leggings, he jogged happily over to Glorfindel's room to find the blond wide awake and stretching comfortably. The two then proceeded to make their way over to Earendil's room. When they entered, Ecthelion and Glorfindel had the shock of their lives. Though the boy was still sleeping, ugly red rashes had sprung all over his face and body. Ecthelion looked horrified, and Glorfindel was already considering the amount of time he had left to live. Ecthelion wanted to melt away into a small puddle of goo. Idril was going to _kill_ them. 

'Glorfindel, is Earendil allergic to sugar?' 

* 

Glorfindel ran a hand through his hair as he watched Ecthelion pace up and down the length of Earendil's room. The two lords had not dared to wake the boy, too afraid of what his reaction might be in response to the red dots all over his face. How had they come about? Surely the boy was not allergic to sugar? They would have known a long time ago, for Gondolin was too small a city for anything like this to go unnoticed by the general populace. Idril was going to shred them into tiny little flags and hang them from the King's Square if she found out. Ecthelion spoke. 

'We have to formulate a plan of attack. We cannot present Earendil in this state to Idril unless we want to be disfigured for life.' 

'How?' Glorfindel asked, worry laced through his tone. Ecthelion shrugged. 

'We distract her, I suppose.' 

Both froze as they heard the horn that signalled the changing on the guard. Idril would be expecting them by then. Glorfindel desperately thought up a plan. 

* 

Earendil felt the red welts all over himself itch, but he had signed a contract. Glorfindel had told him that if he wore the ridiculous mask and long sleeves, he would be rewarded with three bags of sugar cubes without his mother knowing. The deal had been too good to pass up, and for that simply price, Earendil was now in possession of a dangerously large amount of sugar that would be enough to last him through to the Fourth age. Now, he walked side by side with Ecthelion and Glorfindel as they made their way over to the city centre, where his mother would be waiting for him. Earendil felt that the two elf lords were overreacting. They were, after all, only red dots, albeit itchy red dots. Shrugging, Earendil ate another cube of sugar. 

* 

Idril looked incredulously from Ecthelion to Glorfindel, unable to fully comprehend what was going on. Her son was wearing a paper bag over his face, for some reason she could not possibly fathom, and he refused to take it off no matter what she said. Ecthelion had assured her it was just a passing fad, and Earendil was sure to grow out of it sometime soon. Idril, however, was not convinced, sensing something fishy at the way the two elves around her were acting particularly jumpy. Besides, Earendil almost never wore long sleeved shirts unless she forced him to. 

'What is wrong with my son?' She demanded angrily. Glorfindel was quick to ease her fears, smiling reassuringly at her in an effort to save his and Ecthelion's skins. 

'Nothing, my lady. He has just taken a liking to that bag, nothing more.' Idril refused to believe him once again. With one swift tug, the paper bag came off. 

Idril's shriek could be heard all the way off in Doriath. 

* 

'My lady! Please, reason with yourself!' Ecthelion cried as he backed away from Idril, who was pummelling him with her hands. Glorfindel was directly behind him, and the two together retreated away from the Lady's wrath, but Idril was intent on penning them down. 

'You abusive fool! I will have my father behead you! The both of you!' Idril was all out screaming by then, all signs of composure gone from her usually fair face. To Glorfindel, it simply looked terrible and dark at the moment, and running was something he was beginning to consider. Idril, however, was not named Celebrindal only because she went around barefoot most of the time, and the elf seriously doubted that Ecthelion and himself would be able to outrun the swift woman. Earendil followed from behind, quite content to simply munch on sugar and watch a verily entertaining spectacle. Tuor, who was on the way to guard duty, stopped and watched in amazement as his wife single handedly drove back two of the most courageous elf lords in Gondolin. 

'Love? What is the matter?' Even Turgon, who was about that day in the city centre, came by. 

'Daughter...?' Idril turned to them, still exclaiming at the top of her voice. 

'These two hooligans have marred my son!' Ecthelion and Glorfindel were trying to defend themselves. 

'We did no such thing!' Tuor glanced at his son, who was covered in angry red markings, and started laughing. Turgon looked at him, puzzled. Idril was ready to transfer her wrath onto her husband. 

'What, pray tell, is so amusing about our son looking like an orc?' Tuor was shaking with mirth. 

'Idril, our son was not, as you put it, marred by neither Glorfindel nor Ecthelion. He is simply suffering the symptoms of what we _edain_ call Chicken Pox.' Turgon's brow furrowed, and Idril's wrath was temporarily stayed. 

'Chicken Pox? What is that?' 

'Chicken Pox is a normal sickness that all _edain_ contract once during their lifetime. Our Earendil just happened to have caught it now. He will itch for a while, but as long as he does not scratch and cause them to become infected, he will be fine.' Ecthelion and Glorfindel felt a immense sense of relief. It was not their fault. They were not going to get murdered by Idril. Everything was perfect again. Earendil was out of their hands. Idril was busy fussing over her son. Ecthelion caught a bit of their conversation. 

'Earendil? What is that you are eating?' 

'Sugar cubes.' 

'Where did you get them?' 

'Uncle 'Thelion and Uncle 'Findel bribed me with them.' 

The Lord of the Fountain and the Lord of the Golden Flower both did not stick around to hear Idril's reaction to _that_ sentence.   
  



End file.
